Probably the biggest selling point of the Fuji X-F1 will be its sleek design and small size. Because Fuji has opted to use a small (2/3-inch) sensor, the size of the camera can be kept compact.

That said, Sony's one-inch RX100 is shorter and thinner, and only a couple of millimetres thicker than the Fuji X-F1.

It's perhaps a little surprising that a 4x optical zoom lens can fit inside the tiny body of the camera. To keep it sleek, the lens retracts into the body of the Fuji X-F1 when not in use.

The camera is turned on via the lens - like the X10. This is intended to speed up the process of capturing a moment, but may seem a little strange at first.

It's also easy to over-enthusiastically turn the barrel of the lens around and end up having to zoom back out again. That said, it's something you get used to relatively quickly.

You can also set the camera to standby by partially retracting the lens and not pushing it back inside the body. This speeds up the process of grabbing a shot in comparison with powering up the fully switched off camera.

Unlike most traditional compact cameras, the Fuji X-F1's zoom is operated manually via the lens ring, rather than via a button or switch on the back of the camera or around the shutter release.

This gives it an old-fashioned charm and a more serious feel, which is likely to appeal to serious photographers. On the downside, it's pretty much impossible to use this camera with one hand if you want to zoom in.

It's unlikely to appeal to everyone, but the synthetic leather grip adds a stylish finishing touch, and helps when gripping the camera, since there's no dedicated grip. You can elect to choose between red, brown or black, depending on your preference.

At the top of the camera, a traditional mode dial enables quick access to the different functions of the camera, including P/A/S/M modes. Because the camera is so small, there's not the same range of dials and buttons that can be found on the Fuji X10, which is worth bearing in mind if you prefer direct access controls.

Despite the lack of such controls, the ability to shoot in full manual control is available, including aperture and shutter priority.

On the back of the Fuji X-F1 is a sensible selection of buttons, including a dedicated video record button and a customisable E-Fn button for quickly accessing the most commonly used settings.

Two dials can be used for changing parameters such as shutter speed or aperture (depending on the shooting mode). One at the top of the back, and the other that doubles up as a four-way directional pad.

If you're used to using any of the other Fujifilm X range cameras, the menu will be familiar. It's sensibly arranged in the most part, with functions being easy to access and change. Although there's no EVF, the screen itself has been designed to make composing and shooting images easy.

Any changes made to parameters, such as aperture, or adding a digital filter, are displayed on the screen, which is handy for judging whether you need to make further changes.

It's not a touchscreen, which is a shame, since that would have made changing the autofocus point a lot quicker. As it is, you need to press the E-Fn button, and then the record button (which doubles up as the change AF button), then use the arrow keys to choose the autofocus point.

It's also a little confusing, since pressing the E-Fn button brings up an on-screen guide to the button changes - this looks like they should be touch activated, so it takes a little getting used to before you realise that these symbols correspond to physical buttons rather than on-screen options.

The Fuji X-F1's sensitivity can reach up to ISO 3200. One handy function is the ability to set an ISO Auto limit to either 400, 800, or right up to the top end of the 3200. This is useful if you don't want to set a particular sensitivity setting but want to avoid the risk of noisy shots from a very high sensitivity.